


Kaori's Night

by Cantatrice18



Category: Sailor Moon - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Attempted Rape, Backstory, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-26
Updated: 2011-06-26
Packaged: 2017-10-20 09:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/211099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cantatrice18/pseuds/Cantatrice18
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Sailor Uranus sent Kaorinite careening off the Tokyo Tower, everyone thought she had died. In fact, she was trapped in the place between life and death, reliving memories of her past. She remembers growing up with supernatural powers, the trouble those powers caused her, and the reason she came to work for Dr. Tomoe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kaori's Night

Blackness engulfed her, impenetrable, pressing down on every side. She couldn’t breathe, but it didn’t seem to matter. She felt cold, but when she tried to move and warm herself her arms would not follow her commands. She had lost all control of her body and become only a mind, a beacon in the darkness that surrounded her. If she had been able to, she would have cried out in distress. As it was, she could only cling tenuously to life.

She thought about her past, what it had meant. She thought about the Deathbusters, about the youmas they unleashed on the world. She wondered vaguely how she could possibly have ended up there – surely her goal had never been to take part in a scheme that could end with the earth’s destruction. Her thoughts went to her childhood, and immediately a memory engulfed her, as real as the incident itself.

 _She was on her back, pinned down by four other children. Each had a hold on one of her limbs and they were laughing at her, yanking her this way and that. Their leader had left, running to his schoolbag, and now returned bearing a pair of scissors. Brandishing them wickedly, he motioned the other children to hold her down more tightly. Leaning over her, he grabbed her long braid, smiling as he raised the scissors to her hair. She screamed in pain and felt the hands on her body disappear. She opened her eyes to find the children scattered around the schoolyard. Those that had tormented her looked battered and bruised, and the other children stared at her in horror. She heard a rustling noise and looked to find that her hair had come out of its ties. It surrounded her head and was moving of its own accord. One tendril was still extended across the yard, twisted around the ankle of a girl who had held her down. It was far longer than her hair had ever been, longer than anyone’s hair had ever been. She collapsed in shock and confusion as screams erupted around her. ___

Kaori shook herself free of the memory, but the sense of sadness and isolation clung to her. In that terrified effort to protect herself from her attackers she had unknowingly unleashed a torment that would plague her entire life. From that moment on she was separate from the rest of the world, unable to feel normal and secure. The children called her “Harionago”, after the legendary monster with razor tipped hair. Whispers followed her everywhere, even after she had learned to suppress her strange power. The whispers even enveloped her family, and her younger sister suffered much of the same isolation that she did. The relationship between them never recovered. Mitsuko chose to go to a different high school, and coldly informed Kaori that under no circumstances would she let anyone at her new school know that they were related to one another. Even her parents backed away from her. Each time her hair got away from her control she saw an expression of revulsion cross her mother’s face. Her father worked harder than ever, staying at his job until late at night, and from the accusatory looks her mother and sister gave her she knew it was because he didn’t want to spend time around his abnormal daughter. When she left for college she could tell that they were relieved. She returned the next summer to find that all traces of her presence had been removed from the house. She was treated like a distant relative, or even a stranger. She never went home again, and gradually all communication died off. Her own body had driven away everyone she loved. At the thought of love another memory came creeping in, trapping her in its grip.

 _She was working late at the lab. Her coworkers had long since left, going back to their families and friends. She enjoyed the time alone: no people meant no whispers or gossip. She was just putting the last tray of samples away when she heard footsteps in the hallway. The door opened and a tall, muscular man walked in. She caught her breath; Takeo was the idol of most of the other workers, and the most handsome man Kaori had ever seen. While the other women had tittered and giggled over his beauty, Kaori had devoted herself more fully to her work. There was no chance of him ever noticing her, and she wasn’t even sure if she wanted him to. Her hair had been constrained by dozens of pins and woven into a complicated knot at the base of her neck, but she was still uncertain when it came to interacting with people. He looked around and spotted her by the cabinet. She stared at the floor, expecting him to leave, but instead he walked over to her, placing a hand beneath her chin and directing her gaze upwards to meet his. He was smiling oddly at her. For some reason she felt apprehensive. “Staying late again, Kaori?” he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. She nodded mutely and he drew closer to her. “I’ve noticed that you work hard. Too hard, for someone as pretty as you.”_

 _He took another step towards her, and she instinctively backed away, bumping up against the cabinet. He was smiling broadly now. “I think it’s high time you relaxed, let down your hair a bit.”_

 _She stiffened, and he laughed, leaning in so that he towered over her. As she looked up at him, wide eyed, he bent and kissed her. Her mind went blank with shock, but as he began to undo the buttons on her blouse her shock turned to horror. Before she knew it he had pushed the blouse off her shoulders and was running his hands along her torso. She could see the hunger in his eyes and knew what he wanted to do to her, what he was going to do to her if she couldn’t get away. She struggled but he was so much larger than she was. He had begun to unzip her skirt, and as terror overwhelmed her she heard a rain of pins drop to the floor. Her hair sprang free of its constraints, wrapping around her attacker's neck and forcing him further and further back until he hit the far wall. Without him holding her up her knees gave way and she fell to the floor. Her hair relaxed its grip, returning to her sides, and she curled up in an attempt to cover herself. She looked over towards Takeo, who had risen to his feet once more. He was staring at her with such disgust and hatred that it made her shudder. “I’d heard the rumors about you, Kaori, but I didn’t believe such hideous monsters existed. You’re a freak, and I’ll make sure the world knows it.”_

 _He stalked out the door, slamming it behind him. Kaori sat motionless, crying for what seemed like hours. Finally she heard footsteps. She jerked upright, scrambling as far away from the door as she could. It slowly squeaked open and she saw the dim lights reflect off of large round glasses. “Hello, Kaori” the man said, “I’ve been looking for you.” ___

The memory faded away, but the misery and degradation remained. She was unable to shed tears, though her mind begged for something, anything to release the pain. Professor Tomoe had taken her back to her apartment and convinced her to come work as his assistant. She had called her boss in the morning, quitting without telling him the reason. He was upset that she hadn’t given notice, but she hadn’t really cared. She never wanted to see Takeo again, never wanted to hear the other women talk about his handsome features and strong, athletic build. Nothing was worth that. The professor had promised her a lab to work in that didn’t involve seeing other people. She enjoyed the job, though it was very different than what she had been doing before. Gradually, the professor had informed her of the purpose of their work. He had also mentored her. Rather than rejecting her when he found out about her hair, he'd taught her how to use it to her advantage. He began sending her out of the lab more and more, assigning her battles instead of research. She had not complained. She was just so grateful that he hadn’t despised her when he found out what she was. Now, looking back on it, she realized that he had wanted to use her as a weapon, to take advantage of her body for his own purposes. She felt the last glimmer of hope die inside of her, leaving an emptiness that consumed her consciousness. There was no love for her. There was only pain. She searched the blackness, looking for any way to end her agony, to die once and for all. A light was approaching, and she hoped with all her heart that it would take her away. It engulfed her and the feeling in her limbs returned; her chest began to rise and fall, air filling her lungs. She blinked her eyes at the sudden brightness. As her vision cleared she saw her own distorted face reflected in the lenses of huge glasses, and a maniacal grin. “Welcome back, Kaori.”


End file.
